Malaysians are MATURED....it's some POLITICIANS who are IDIOTS!

In Europe, the Annual SILLY season happens during Summer...normally, around June or July. The 1st August 2009 "ISA incident" ( peaceful march, constitutional protest, mob demonstration....depending on who you talk to ) has enabled Malaysia...in her aspirations to become a developed nation by 2020, to narrow the "SiLLy" development gap to just about 1-2 months behind!

At a time when the world is in a severe economic downturn and as such focus should be on getting all Malaysians (...irrespective of Religion, Race or Sex ) safely through murky waters, the clowns ( both BN & PR politicians )...with the travelling circus in tow i.e. followers on both side of the political divide are acting like Somalis pirates.......hijacking ships (equals economic recovery) for their own personal political agenda!

Why MY Weltanschauung call some BN politicians IDIOTS :-

• Peaceful Assembly ENSHRINED in Malaysian Constitution
  Notwithstanding qualifying clauses, Article 10 (b) states that:-
  
  " all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms "
  
• Democracy Benchmark
  Protests happens in matured democracy like Washington, USA or London,UK
  and is credited with ending the Vietnam War and Poll Tax...amongst others!
  
• Spending Stimulus
  Desperate times calls for revolutionary thinking! Malaysia's *foreign minister Anifah Aman comments vis-a-vis ASEAN approach towards Myanmar is a case in point! I would say having more protests actually stimulate the local economy by enriching the hawkers & petty traders...amongst others. This is because a protest is actually an EVENT.....and like most events, RM have to be spent!

" There are 3 types of LIES - Lies, Damned Lies & Statistics "

I do not know where the FT Minister( an alumni of the RMC ) got the figures of RM100-200m losses as a result of the "incident"...it would be interesting to see how the *FT minister qualifies his statement as compared to what an actuarist tabulates! I beg to differ with the FT Minister as I believe that well attended Protests actually adds value to the economy. Examples:-

1. Increased TRANSPORTATION Spending
   - Toll, Petrol, Plane/Taxis/LRT/Bus fare and/or charter etc.


2. Increased F & B Spending -


3. Increased MERCHANDISE & Related Items Spending
   - T-Shirts, Caps, Badges, Posters, Newspapers etc.


4. JOB CREATION & Increased SALARY
   - Overtime Pay and/or Allowances for Reporters, Security personnel, DBKL Cleaners etc

Why MY Weltanschauung call some PR politicians IDIOTIC:

• H1N1 Spread
  With the H1N1 outbreak in Malaysia spiralling out of control, only the extremely dumb will say that having hundreds of people let alone thousands...in a dense area a smart move - unless they think that SMART is the name of a car!
  Note: *IF ONLY.....SMART countries had imposed a travel ban earlier!
  

• Getting KIDS involved
  COWARDS get kids involved in their fight! ...but then again, in certain 'conflict' countries - kids are bearing arms.

MY Weltanschauung RM177 comments:

Najib's honeymoon is over!

at the end of the day, the ONLY person/body who came out of it with something is the Malaysian Police esp FRU who managed to get some practise after a long hiatus. After all ASEAN did not have the *ASEANAPOL-Police HQ in KL for no valid reason.

Perhaps it's time for a 3rd force in Politics
...something like the Liberal Democrats in UK!
Partai Kunci ( KEY Party )...ANYone???

PILPRES INDONESIA (Presidential Elections)

Tomorrow...Wednesday, 8th July 2009 is D-DAY for the more than 238million Indonesians!

It is the Presidential Elections ( commonly referred to here as "PILPRES" ).

The next President will lead Indonesia from 2009-2014.

Will the existing President SBY prevail?...or, his predecessor Ibu Megawati ...or, will GOLKAR lead Indonesia again with the current Wapres(Wakil Presiden i.e. Vice-President) Jusuf Kalla?

O...G...K...ONLY GOD KNOWS!

( Aspiring Candidates )

( sample of the Ballot paper )

Having arrived in May for my internship at the ASEAN Secretariat-Jakarta (ASEC) , the campaigning was an eye-opener for me as it allows me to compare the campaigning style of 2 different yet similar country/culture i.e. Malaysia and Indonesia.

Indonesia is the 3rd country (after Malaysia & UK) where I'm observing elections....surprisingly I first voted NOT in Malaysia but in the UK and campaigned in Sheffield for the Liberal Democrats (...for the simple fact that Paddy Ashdown used to serve in Malaysia).

Hence, some personal (NOT as ASEC rep.) observations:

• Only 2 countries in ASEAN chose their President/PM direct...the other being Philippines.


• Almost equal Coverage on TV for the 3 aspiring candidates...( Malaysia MUST Learn ). Point to Note: Voter Education programmes (i.e. how to vote, exercise your rights...blah,blah,blah) are partly sponsored by Japan/Japanese NGOs.


• Official campaigning ended on Saturday i.e. 4days before actual elections. On Sunday, banners, posters etc. started/have to be removed...I suppose its to give voters time to reflect - FREE of external influences!


• Malaysia's ruling(federal) coalition is referred to as Barisan Nasional. Indonesia has a party called BARNAS (short for Barisan Nasional).


• Usage of ink to ensure that voters DO NOT vote twice.


• ...and in a compromise(despite a court ruling re the electoral register) to ensure the elections proceed - voters who are not registered/listed in the electoral roll, can vote at the last hour before the polling stations are closed! GO FIGURE!

Some comparisons:

• Extensive use of paraphernalia like banners, posters etc. in Indonesia & Malaysia, whereas in UK...its usage is considered minimal.


• Supporters of contenders will go around treating people at certain places. e.g. in Kebayoran Baru(where I'm staying), certain factions will go around saying "this treat is on us...more to come,if we win". Same goes for Malaysia...reminds me of Ketari, Pahang by-election ...amongst others!


• Almost Equal coverage of contenders in TV media in UK(at least where Labour & Conservative parties are concerned) and Indonesia.......but not in Malaysia.
  

Based on the feedbacks I get in Jakarta(mainly from taxi drivers, food stall operators & public at large) & to a lesser extent Bandung folks...it will be a contest between SBY-Boediono & JK-Wiranto. Ibu Mega seemed to be setting-up Prabowo for the next Presidential bid in 2014...aah! Politics...who would have thought that Bung Karno's daughter would ever team-up with Pak Suharto's former son-in-law!!??

My 177Rupiah Ngobrol(Comment):

The election is a fight between the PAST , PRESENT and a wannabe FUTURE.

I forecast GREAT THINGS happening in Indonesia...if, they chose right!

I would think that the SBY-Boediono ticket will win handsomely....but, then again so did BN in the 12th General Elections held in 2008!

~ I WISH INDONESIA...ALL THE BEST & CHOOSE WISELY ~